Mini Snickerdoodles: Classic & Peanut Butter-Stuffed

Merry almost-Christmas to you! I can't believe just about another year has gone by. This time last December, I would not have dared touch a cookie that was baked with flour and cane sugar. I'm happy to say that, over the course of this past year, I've completely reversed the restrictive ways I used to engage with food, and now I can enjoy a few sugary, homemade cookies with my family in this special holiday season. I hope you can, too! I'm inexplicably thankful for you as a reader, and I cannot wait for what's to come in this new year. Wishing you + your loved ones the sweetest holiday season to date!

SO about these cookies. At first, I wanted to craft the perfect, classic snickerdoodle free of the allergens gluten, dairy, and soy. Then, when they came out of the oven, looking so cute and mini, and tasting crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, all I wanted to do was stuff them full of a peanut butter filling to make cookie SANDWICHES. And that’s what happened!

Now, if you have no interest in making snickerdoodle cookie sandwiches, definitely proceed right along with the classic recipe that's written below. The fam and I have been loving both variations, and I'm a girl who loves to give options.

Classic & Peanut Butter-Stuffed Snickerdoodles

Serves: 16

These cookies are the perfect addition to your holiday dessert spread -- they're free of gluten, dairy, and soy, and they are easy to make! You have the option to make the classic, delightful snickerdoodles, but to also make cookie sandwiches with a sweet peanut butter-y filling.

Ingredients

For the cookies:

1/2 cup of coconut oil (I haven’t tested palm shortening or butter, but both should work well as a subsitute)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

1 large egg

1 1/3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Salt

For the peanut butter filling:

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons coconut flour

1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg

For rolling the cookies:

1.5 Tbsp organic cane sugar

1.5 tsp Cinnamon

Process

For the cookies:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper

In a food processor, whip the coconut oil, vanilla extract, cane sugar, and egg together

Once whipped and blended together, add mixture to a big bowl

In that large bowl, combine the wet mixture with the flour, baking soda, and sea salt — mix well

Wrap cookie dough in saran wrap and store in the fridge for 10 minutes to let chill

While the batter is chilling, make the peanut butter mixture (if you want to make cookie sandwiches) — see below for instructions

In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and sugar mixture for cookie rolling

Once 10 minutes have gone by, remove the dough from the fridge and unwrap

Mold approximately one tablespoon of dough into a small, round ball — be careful not to roughly and quickly roll it, or else the batter will crumble

Roll the ball in the cinnamon & sugar mixture until fully covered

Place on parchment paper and repeat until all dough has been rolled into balls. Leave approximately 1 inch between cookies on the parchment paper